The Learning Centre

Protein: The More The Merrier?

Protein is a hot topic these days and for good reason. Protein fuels literally every single metabolic function in your body and second to water, is essential to life. But, is it truly a nutrient where ‘the more the merrier’ holds true? Well, the answer is that it depends, but more is certainly not always merrier.

First of all, let’s start with some simple signs that you might need more protein in your diet:

– Is your energy all over the place throughout the day?
– Do you have constant cravings throughout the day (chocolate chip cookies, anyone)?
– Do you recover slowly from injuries or have hair, skin and nail problems?
– Are you very busy and therefore always eating out or on the go?
– Have you gained weight, particularly in the belly area?

In the above cases, often increasing your protein intake has phenomenal results that you will notice almost immediately! For you busy bees out there, a good quality protein powder can be a very effective and easy way to increase your daily protein intake.

What to look for:

If you do decide to increase your protein intake, before you go looking for a protein supplement that has the highest possible grams of protein, consider the fact that a higher gram count of protein doesn’t necessarily mean better. It often comes down to quality over quantity.

Is a wide variety of protein sources or a single source better?

Each source of protein contains different amino acids. To be a complete protein, it must contain all of the nine essential amino acids. With plant based protein, variety is key so that you ensure you get all of the essential amino acids. For example, by having just pea protein or just hemp protein, you may fall short on some of the essential amino acids. By combining them properly, you are guaranteed to get all of the essential amino acids.

Genuine Health’s fermented vegan proteins+ has this wide variety as it contains seven different plant based sources of protein, including spirulina, alfalfa, mung bean sprouts, quinoa sprouts, pea, hemp and brown rice – all of which are non-GMO and low allergen. The best part though, is that all seven of these proteins are fermented.

Why fermented is so much better:

Typical plant based protein powders often contain anti-nutrients like lignans and phytates which are natural protective features of the nutrient that make the protein difficult to digest and can even lead to food sensitivities. For many people, this can lead to bloating or an uncomfortable feeling after consuming those foods, and nobody wants that!

That’s why looking for a fermented protein powder, like fermented vegan proteins+ is so important. A fermented protein powder can naturally break down and disarm the anti-nutrients in plants and make the protein more digestible and absorbable. In fact, Fermented plant based protein are absorbed and utilized 40% more vs unfermented. You can think of it as the fermentation literally ‘pre-digesting’ the food for you, leaving you with a flat and happy stomach after your meal. For the best quality, make sure all of the protein sources are fermented, not just one or two.

To answer your original question of whether it’s always “the more the merrier” with protein, the answer is no. Instead, make sure you have a good quality, multi-source plant based protein powder that is fermented.